So Friday's pre-cap was a thing huh? Itna suspense agar every weekend milega toh main to seriously mein pagal ho jaaungo. Lekin, let's take a rational look at what could happen in this little ficlet involving Ishqi, Ahaan and our fav Agent KM. This is a long one, so strap yourselves in, we're going at it again.
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“I’m pregnant. Aur iss baby ka baap, Ahaan hai.” Ishqi’s eyes were glued on Rhea’s face, searching for a hint of lie, anything that could prove that this was just another ploy to take revenge and separate AVM and her. But his deafening silence gave her many answers, and even more questions.
Glancing around at the faces surrounding them, there was just one other face that she could see trying to comprehend the motives behind Rhea’s words.
“Mujhe aapse baat karni hai. Chaliye.” She has no idea where the strength in her voice comes from, but there it is. Entwining her fingers with his, she tugs his lax body towards their bedroom, paying no attention to the eyes that followed them, nor to the unbelieving expression on Rhea’s face. This was bigger than big.
‘Ab tak laga tha ki saare siyappe bahut bade the. Par yeh to siyappon ke dada-ji hai.'
“Baithiye.” she directs him towards the bed, turning around for a glass of water. A tug on her hand stops her.
“Ishqi, main tumhe--”
“Rukiye, please.” The onslaught of memories and thoughts is almost painful. Rhea and Ahaan in his office, both wearing guilty looks, his drowning in remorse while hers had almost a smug undertone to it.
Prying her hand away from his grip, she moves towards the door and locks it. Just in case. This was one conversation she did not want anyone barging into. All the while, feeling his eyes burning holes into her back, pleading.
Another memory hit her. That night Dadi faked fainting to ruin the suhaagraat. Ahaan thought he’d seen Rhea there. And then when he’d come back, he looked almost terrified. At first she had chalked it up to fear for dadi. But now-- but now,
Her mind is moving too painfully fast to try and make it stop. But she tries anyway. Deep breaths in and out. Moving to sit next to him, she keeps her eyes glued to an imaginary spot on the wall.
“Ishqi, please look at me” The shaky tenor of his voice and the desperation laced through it forces her head to turn and face him, despite her best efforts to stop it. She’s sure he can see the anguish from his eyes reflected in hers.
They sat there, unable to tear their eyes from each other, letting the silence overwhelm them. Trying to find the right words. She thought it would be best to start with vocalizing some of the more intrusive thoughts. Start from the beginning. Reassure each other that- that what?
“Aapko yaad hai, jab dadi hospital mein thi, aur humne ek dusre ko ek wada kiya tha? Aur reception wali raat bhi? Ki hum dono ek dusre ko sach bolenge? Aur aapne mujhe pucha tha ki agar aapse koi maaf na karne waali galti ho gayi, to main kya karungi?”
That everything would be alright.
Her answer echoed through his head. “Main Kartik ko bolke tumhe maasi ke ghar drop karwa doonga.” he relied in a gravely tone.
She hated to hear the shake in Ahaan’s normally strong and deep voice. Gently entwining her fingers with his, she spoke softly, “Main aapki side sunna chahti hoon. Mujhe pata hai ki mere AVM aise kuch nahin kar sakte jisse unki dadi aur baaki ke ghar ki badnaami ho. Nashe mein bhi nahin. Toh mujhe poori story batayiye. Aur phir hum decide karenge ki iss Rhea naam ki musibat ko kya chahiye aur iska kya karna hai.”
“Ishqi tum- tum mujhpe itna bharosa kaise kar sakti ho? Koi be wife apne husband par itna bharosa nahin karti. Pehle shak karti hai. Har baar jab aisa hot a hai toh guilty until innocent ho jaata hai toh tum mujhpar itna trust kaise kar sakti ho?” The disbelief and burgeoning hope in his eyes made her want to curse Rhea. And Dadi. They were the cause of this fragility in him.
“Yeh unwritten waali boys ki rule-book ko jalaa dena chahiye. Aur yeh shaadi waali rule book ko bhi. Aap aur mein unn normal couples jaise nahin hain. Pehle bhi kaha hai aur ab bhi keh deti hoon. Hum partners hain. Pehle nahin bataya, koi baat nahin. Ab bata dijiye. Phir iss siyappe ko sambhalke, agle waale ko sambhalenge. Kabhi kabhi raaz rakhne padte hain, lekin uska yeh matlab nahin ki time aane par unko khola bhi na jaaye. Toh abhi, ispe focus karte hain. Aur agar future mein mujhse koi secret chhup gaya, tab uspe baat karenge.”
And with a hesitant smile, he narrated the entirety of 6 months to her, trying to put as much detail into it as possible. She had shown him trust when she had no reason to. She should have left him for this mistake. But where he couldn’t be rational, she let her cooler head do the thinking. He couldn’t let her down now. “...aur mujhe sure hai Ishqi ke bachcha mera nahin hai. Ho hi nahin sakta. Rhea baar baar keh rahi hai ki yeh baby mera hi hai, par agar main seriously utna drunk tha, toh I seriously doubt ki kuch bhi hua hoga. Har baar main blackout drunk hua hoon, toh sabne mujhe kaha hai ki main so jata hoon. Toh uss baar itna kya different hua ki main usko tum samajh baitha aur yeh kar diya? Not possible. I swear Ishqi, yeh baby mera nahin hai.”
“I know AVM, I know. Aap please paani pijiye. Ab main aapke saath hoon na? Kuch galat nahin hone doongi. Pakka wala promise. Par abhi, humein is khel mein, ek naye khiladi ka intro karna hai.” She pulled out her phone and shot off a quick text.
Minutes later, a knock sounded on the door. Opening it revealed Kartik, whom she ushered inside frantically, before locking the door again.
“Kisi ne dekha toh nahin? Kisi ne tumhara peecha toh nahin kiya?”
“Nahin bhabhi. Sab log toh neeche Rhea ko ghur rahe hain. Kisi ko bhi pata nahin chala. Aap batao, aapne mujhe kyun bulaya?” he assured her, all the time, trying to ignore the other presence in the room.
“Kartik, tumhe yaad hai, humne kaha tha ki Mr. Mehta to filmy hero types hain? Rhea to unse bhi gayi guzari nikli. Mujhe pata hai yeh koi jhol jhapatta kar rahi hai. Aur jo bhi mujhe AVM ne bataya hai, usse lagta nahin hai ki yeh bachcha inka hai. Ya phir wo pregnant bhi hai. Mera dil keh raha hai ki agar inhe ittu sa bhi yakeen hota na, toh yeh mujhe bata dete. Problem kuch aur hi hai Kartik. Aur yeh humein pata lagana hai. Aur main tumse zyada iss waqt kisi par trust nahin kar sakti.”
Her trust in him brought a half-quirk on his lips. “Woh toh theek hai bhabhi. Par bhai ne bataya kya hai?”
She narrated everything Ahaan had told her, with periodic interjections from her husband. Kartik knelt in front of his brother, and with conviction asked “Bhai, kya aap sure ho ki yeh baby aapka nahin hai? This is a big risk. Aur yeh sirf aapka risk nahin hai. Isme biggest shareholder Ishqi hai. And then the family. Agar aapko thoda sa bhi lagta hai ki yeh sab - jo woh Rhea keh rahi hai- is the truth, abhi boldo bhai. We can do damage control. Lekin agar aapko lagta hai ki she’s lying, then we’ll have to go on the offensive. Uske koi drastic step lene se pehle, we’ll have to take it. Are you ready for that? Yeh decision sirf aapka nahin, Ishqi ka bhi hai. I think you guys should talk. I’ll wait outside.” He moved to rise, but a dainty hand kept him in place.
“Mujhe tumhare lecture mein se sirf aadha-pauna hi samajh aaya. Lekin aisi koi baat nahin hai jo hum discuss karein, aur jisme tumhari opinion na lein. Tumne aaj tak mera aur apne bhai ka acche se saath diya hai. Toh isme bhi, decision mein sabse bada part mera aur Ahaan ka hoga, par tumhara bhi hoga. Hum dono bhevar jo thaire!” she joked, from behind a choked up tone.
“Kartik I promise you, abse I’ll include you in all the news. Tumne jo mere aur Ishqi ke liye kiya hai na, I can’t thank you enough. And I promise, mujhe pata hai, ki yeh baby mera nahin hai. Tum sabne mujhe hazaar baar bataya hai ki I’m a sleepy drunk. And the time she’s talking about, I’m sure ki I was a sleepy and depressed drunk. I don’t think maine kuch kiya hoga. Lekin ek baat hai. Uss raat ko hue more than 2 months ho gaye hai. I’m not an expert lekin-”
“- her dates don’t match up.” Kartik finished excitedly. “Bhai! Perfect! Yeh hi to hai! This is where she made a mistake. Lekin agar aapka nahin, toh baby kiska hai?”
“Arre, chodo na! Kisi ka bhi ho! Humein uss se kya? AVM ka nahin hai, bas uska shukar manao. Par ye kya bol rahe ho, tareekh nahi milti. Kundali thodi hai, jo milani hai!”
“Arre bhabhi, dates don’t match up ka matlab hai ki Rhea bol rahi hai ki jo unke aur bhai ke beech hua tha, woh 2 mahine ke pehle hua tha. Lekin woh keh rahi hai ki she’s 3 months pregnant. Bhai ko aur kuch yaad na ho, lekin woh taareekein zaroor yaad rakhte hain. Jaise ki...tum aur bhai kab first time mile the. Unhe abhi tak yaad hai, kyun bhaiii?” he teased.
A hand clamped down on his ear and tugged. “Ow ow ow ow ow. Chodo bhabhi. Sorrysorrysorry.”
“Hmm. Agar tumhara ho gaya ho toh maharani Rhea se nipta jaaye? Doctor se jaake pehle iski reports confirm karwaayeinge aur phir woh, kya kehte hain? Patr- parten- patreni-”
“Paternity test?”
“Haan! Woh! Woh karwaate hain! Aapko bada godh-father banane ka shauk hai na? Uske shauk toh ab main nikalungi. Ab chaliye. Warna aur log aa jaayenge aur phirse sawaal jawaab shuru.”
With a plan in place, and Ishqi by his side, and a supportive brother, his spirits soared among the clouds from where it had been brow-beaten on the ground just an hour ago. So much had changed, and yet, a few things remained constant. Ahaan knew that with family by his side, he could overcome anything.
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Ho gaya ji, ho gaya. This one took me a whole 3 days to bang out, but dang it feels good to have it done. Longest one yet, I think. Let me know your thoughts! ❤️❤️
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